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Myths and Legends #13
The Knights of the Round Table
The Knights of the Round Table were the original knights in shining armour, and this book is for anyone who is interested in fantastical tales of bravery or the actual history behind the stories. In medieval Arthurian tradition, Arthur often takes a back seat in the most exciting he appears at the beginning and end of each to set the scene and conclude the tale. The central character is instead one of the Knights of the Round Table, each of whom is confronted with a wide variety of challenges and quests ranging from fighting monstrous creatures and rescuing damsels in distress to coping with courtly love and intrigue. Although Arthur is the most well-known character from these stories his key knights - including Lancelot, Gawain, Perceval, and Tristan - are almost equally well known This volume provides a collection of the most famous and interesting tales of the Knights of the Round Table, including the historical and literary background to the stories.
80 pages, Paperback
First published January 20, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 13, 2015
Pros: quick summaries of notable stories, timeline of when stories were written, interesting text boxes with additional information, mentions alternate spellings/versions
Cons: as mentioned in the introduction there are too many knights and stories to cover them all
As with the other books in Osprey’s Myths and Legends series, this is a great introduction if you’re interested in Arthurian Legends. The author, Daniel Mersey, wrote a volume on King Arthur, and this volume on the knights is meant to accompany it in fleshing out the legends.
The book has entertaining synopses of several of the earliest legends about Arthur’s knights, told by Chretien de Troyes and his contemporaries in the late 12th Century. There are several stories about Lancelot and Gawain, as well as Tristan and Isolde, Yvain, Erec, Balin and Beaumains.
If you don’t know much about the knights, this is a fantastic introduction, with text boxes breaking up the stories that have added information regarding where different characters were popular, alternate spellings, which ones potentially came first, etc. The literary timeline’s also great, showing when the different stories were written.
It’s an attractive edition with reprints of several images that accompanied older editions of the stories as well as new illustrations by Alan Lathwell.
Of course, with such a slim volume a lot is going to be left out. The author mentions that in his introduction and includes a supplementary reading and watching list (including preferred translations for the texts) for those who want to learn more.
Cons: as mentioned in the introduction there are too many knights and stories to cover them all
As with the other books in Osprey’s Myths and Legends series, this is a great introduction if you’re interested in Arthurian Legends. The author, Daniel Mersey, wrote a volume on King Arthur, and this volume on the knights is meant to accompany it in fleshing out the legends.
The book has entertaining synopses of several of the earliest legends about Arthur’s knights, told by Chretien de Troyes and his contemporaries in the late 12th Century. There are several stories about Lancelot and Gawain, as well as Tristan and Isolde, Yvain, Erec, Balin and Beaumains.
If you don’t know much about the knights, this is a fantastic introduction, with text boxes breaking up the stories that have added information regarding where different characters were popular, alternate spellings, which ones potentially came first, etc. The literary timeline’s also great, showing when the different stories were written.
It’s an attractive edition with reprints of several images that accompanied older editions of the stories as well as new illustrations by Alan Lathwell.
Of course, with such a slim volume a lot is going to be left out. The author mentions that in his introduction and includes a supplementary reading and watching list (including preferred translations for the texts) for those who want to learn more.
May 23, 2015
'The Knights of the Round Table' by Daniel Mersey is part of the Osprey Myths and Legends series. I've loved this series, and this one is no exception.
The focus this time around are the knights of the Round Table, but, more specifically, the quests they embarked on. The stories of the quests are given, and the origins of the stories in literature are also given. There are insets throughout the book with deeper information about some of the main characters. Knights are tempted by women, or made to ride in carts, or challenged to feats of arms. One knight wields a fish knife and defends the lady who mocks him for his stink. One knight marries a hideous woman and discovers a surprise.
I've loved stories of King Arthur since my childhood, and I've read a lot of books on the subject. These are great shorter translations of some of the stories. I liked the illustrations by Alan Lathwell, and all the other ones from various sources. There is a nice section at the end with selected reading and watching for those who want to learn more.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Osprey Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
The focus this time around are the knights of the Round Table, but, more specifically, the quests they embarked on. The stories of the quests are given, and the origins of the stories in literature are also given. There are insets throughout the book with deeper information about some of the main characters. Knights are tempted by women, or made to ride in carts, or challenged to feats of arms. One knight wields a fish knife and defends the lady who mocks him for his stink. One knight marries a hideous woman and discovers a surprise.
I've loved stories of King Arthur since my childhood, and I've read a lot of books on the subject. These are great shorter translations of some of the stories. I liked the illustrations by Alan Lathwell, and all the other ones from various sources. There is a nice section at the end with selected reading and watching for those who want to learn more.
I received a review copy of this ebook from Osprey Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.
December 6, 2014
Disclaimer: ARC via Netgalley.
I should note that I haven’t read the King Arthur volume of the series.
Hands down my favorite knight is Gawain, always has been. I’m not quite sure why perhaps because I read tales about the knights first, and most of those sources were Welsh, so no Lancelot.
This book is a relatively a good introduction to the more famous knights and stories from the Arthur cycles. Lancelot and Gawain each get two stories while Balin, Gareth, Yvain, and Erec get one. The story of Tristan is given almost completely. The sources are far more than Malory, and in fact, seem to be predominately French – the tales of Lancelot, Yvain, and Erec are drawn from Chrétien de Troyes. Each section contains factoids about either minor characters, the writers of the stories, or actually places mentioned in them. Additionally, there is a detailed description about the Round Table.
The tales about Lancelot basically concern love – one is his rescue of Guinevere and the other is his encounter with the Four Queens. The second tale, the Four Queens, seems a rather strange inclusion; however, it is nice to see at least some of the focus on the flaws of the knights. This is also presented in the oft told tale of Gawain and the Green Knight, included here as well.
Because this is a book intended for children, some of the more risqué details are left out – such as Lancelot leaving blood on the sheets after a night of passion – are left out. There is a rather extensive list of further reading (including Tennyson!) as well as a list for viewing (though it leaves out Clive Owen’s King Arthur movie) included. The illustrations including stunning paintings as well as film styles. The artwork is both original and medieval, so it makes for a nice combination.
It’s a good collection and a nice introduction to the various legends and sources.
February 24, 2024
This was really fantastic! I consider myself a big King Arthur nerd since I was really young but I had never heard some of these. It of course has the big ones like the tales of Lancelot, Tristan, and Gawain and the Green Knight, but also great tales of Erec and Enede, Gareth, and Yvaine WHO HAS A PET LION WHO AIDS HIM IN COMBAT!!! How had I never heard that one??? Mersey's writing is also great and is simple but doesn't talk down, very fairy tale-esque. I also really adored the art which felt grounded but also has a touch of fantastical to it. Basically, a great introduction for new and old.
January 3, 2018
A very well done series that examines the legends and their sources
April 18, 2021
Useful resource with a sense of humor. Not sure about the organization of the informational inset boxes (or whatever those are called).
June 6, 2015
"The Knights of the Round Table" by Daniel Mersey is (apparently) part of a series; I didn't know that this book was part of a series, but it was highly enjoyable nonetheless! This book gives a great introduction to the legends of many of the knights of the Round Table.
This book is one that you can read straight through (like I usually do) or you can pick and choose which stories you want to read and when (what I did this time). Mersey does a wonderful job detailing the quests that the knights embared on, tying in the historical context of the legends. Throughout the book there are additional sections that provide more information about some of the main (better known) characters. I particularly enjoyed how Mersey wrote about possible origins for the stories as well as some of the writers who initially recorded Arthurian legends. The illustrations were also a nice addition!
I found this book to be interesting and a great primer for those people who are fans of King Arthur. I would recommend this book!
I received a free copy of this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This book is one that you can read straight through (like I usually do) or you can pick and choose which stories you want to read and when (what I did this time). Mersey does a wonderful job detailing the quests that the knights embared on, tying in the historical context of the legends. Throughout the book there are additional sections that provide more information about some of the main (better known) characters. I particularly enjoyed how Mersey wrote about possible origins for the stories as well as some of the writers who initially recorded Arthurian legends. The illustrations were also a nice addition!
I found this book to be interesting and a great primer for those people who are fans of King Arthur. I would recommend this book!
I received a free copy of this ebook from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
December 28, 2014
The Knights of the Round Table
by Daniel Mersey
a detailed description of the figures in history and literature through the ages, Arthur and his knights their quests and their struggles. The book is worth it just for the illustrations themselves. A great resource to begin research on the subject of Arthur with detailed resources and explanations of the legends and myths and were they came from.
by Daniel Mersey
a detailed description of the figures in history and literature through the ages, Arthur and his knights their quests and their struggles. The book is worth it just for the illustrations themselves. A great resource to begin research on the subject of Arthur with detailed resources and explanations of the legends and myths and were they came from.
February 9, 2015
Between fiction and non-fiction
The book is an abstract of several adventures of the knights of Round Table (but it has none of the Grail Quests!!?) and also has several information on the origin of the stories and the medieval authors, but it does not excel in either field. There are much better books regarding the stories.
It has many illustrations, but most of them are from old editions. On the other hand, the original illustrations are very good.
The book is an abstract of several adventures of the knights of Round Table (but it has none of the Grail Quests!!?) and also has several information on the origin of the stories and the medieval authors, but it does not excel in either field. There are much better books regarding the stories.
It has many illustrations, but most of them are from old editions. On the other hand, the original illustrations are very good.
December 7, 2014
A good YA introduction to the infamous Knights of the Round Table and their quests. This ebook has some wonderful illustrations and an excellent bibliography for further research. These stories include the Welsh and Troyes versions and just about everything in between. You will find some of the more well-known knights and stories as well as some lesser known ones.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews